Conductor clamp



April 1935- K. A.IHAWLEYY 1,997,143

conmic'roR CLAMP Filed June 17, 1927 Patented Apr. 9, 1935 r CONDUCTORCLAMP '7 Kent I B altiinore Mdq. assignor to Locke InsulatorCorporation, Baltimore, Md., a

' ,cofpoi'atioii 'gif Maryland v U Application'June17, 1927, Serial No.199,512

' d 'ifiis. (atr a-'31) The invention relates to clamps such as are usedfor the suspension -of the conductorsof transmission lines, for securinga g'round'conductor, andforother p'urposes.=. V In transmission line:practice it is'customary to provide conductor clamps which are pivotedwith respect to the insulator, string irom which the conductor issuspended. Thepivotpoint of the clamp generally several inches from thesuspension device and the result that when the clamp moves in accordancewith vibrations of the conductor the clamp must movelongitudinally as owell as pivotally. As such clampsare necessarily of fairly heavyconstruction so as ,to wi'th stand the service strains they haveconsiderable inertia and will not follow the vibrations" o ftheconductor. It consequently occurs thatthe} conductor may bend more orless sharply "at theedge of the clamp, resulting in crystallization.and-eventual breaking of the conductor strands. It therefore becomesfamatter of importancetofreduce the inertia so that the clamp may respondinstantly and accurately to the Vibrations which are always present inthe transmission line. g g

It is with the above factsiji n viewIthat I have designed the presentinvention whichhas for its principal object the provision of a clamp soconstructed and having. such'a pivotal mountingit hat it will offer theminimum resistanceto, the con ductor vibrations, that ism say theinertia will be reduced so that the clamp may follow the vi brationswithout'lagging and. causing bending strains in the-conductor to. be set1up.- V

The object of the invention, morespecifically stated, is to provide aclamp pivoted on an axis transverse to and intersecting the longitudinalaxis of the conductor whereby necessary movement in a vertical planewill'be permitted without changingthe location of the" center of mass ofthe clamp and without any change in the sition of the supporting partsabove it.

Still another object of the'inventio-n is to provide a clamp of suchconstruction that there will be a rolling rather than a sliding contactat the pivot so as to facilitate oscillation.

Afurther objectis to provide a clamp having a novel arangement of pivotmeans and a novel mounting therefor on the suspension means wherebyassembly, or disassembly, may be effected quickly and easily.

An additional object is to provide a clamp of this character which willbe simple and inexpensive to manufacture, positive in action, eflicientand durable in service, and a general improvement in the art.

tionin this respect. In detail, the member l 'To the attainment of theforegoing and ot r objects and advantages, the invention preferablyconsists in the details-of construction and the arrangement andcombination of parts-tobeheieinafter more fully described and Claimed,-aiid'il-f '5' lustrated in the accompanying drawing'in which: Figure lis a side elevation ofa clam constructed inaccordance with the preferredform of theinvention,

"Figure 2 is a top plan view thereof with the 10 suspension links insection,

Figure 3 is an end view, 1 I Figure e is a detail cross section taken onthe line- 4+ of Figure 1. i "Referring moreparticularly t the drawing-,I have shown :the'clamp as comprising aulower clamping member indicatedgenerally at];- this member being of suitable size andwei'g ht-depending upon the size of the conductor tribe held. This member mayconveniently be'foriried asia casting though there is no particularliniita comprises an elongated body channel shaped cross section orformed with a longitudinally tending groove 2 for the receptionandacc'oiir modation of the condue'tort, the central por: tion of thebottom of the groove'bein'g sutstait; tially straight and constitutinga-seatql con formingly'enga'gedby the conductor.- The ends of the memberI are preferably curved new wardly as clearly shown so that theconductor s will be out of contact with the ends.- -Atopp'o-jsite'fsides, the member I shown as provided with a plurality oflaterally extending-lugsor' ears 5' formed withholes s im a purpose t'obe described. In-orde'rito rigidify'the structure the underside of themember I is preferablyprovided with a central l longitudinally Iextending ='rib",'l intersecting a transverse rib 8. Clearly-these ribswill act-as trusses for reinforcing the clamp, at the portion subject tothe great'eststra-in However, many variations in the number andarrangement of reinforcement elements are pos-' l sible.

Theclamp further includes an upper clamp- 45 ing member 9 which may beof substantially the V same length asthe member i and of a size to bereceived within the groove 2 for clamping engagement with the conductor3. The member 9 may conveniently be formed as a casting but regardlessof this detail is preferably provided inwardly of its ends with pairs ofspaced ribs I0 defining seats H for securing bolts l2 which mightconceivably be of the J -type but which are here represented as U-shapedwith the arms thereof passing through the holes 6 in the membets 5 andequipped with nuts I3. By providing the seats II it is clear that whenthebolts are in place it will be impossible for the clamping member 9 toshift longitudinally with respect to the member I. V

Between the inner ones'of the pairs of ribs I0 the member 9 ispreferably provided with a central longitudinally extending stiffeningrib 14 for reinforcing purposes at the portion of greatest strain.Beyond the outermost ribs ID the end v thereon, dangerofocrystallization and consequent portions of the member 9 arepreferably curved upwardly away from the conductor so as to avoidcontact therewith even though violent vibration V of the conductor mightoccur from any; cause.

adapted to be connected in any suitable or-preferred manner with asuspension device :indicated by dot and dash lines ll. ;The principalfeature of the invention is the particular mounting of the clamp withrespect to the links l5. Preferably, the lower clamping .member I isformedwith .trunnions [8 which project outwardly from opposite sidesbetweenvther lugs or ears 5, reinforcing bosses I9 being provided at thebase of. the trunnions or at their juncture with the member Thesetrunnions are represented as of cylindrical form' and they prefer ablyterminate in heads 20 whichrareelongateci downwardly was to projectbeyond the lower surface of the trunnions; .The links I6 are formed withelongated openings 2| receiving the trunnions and of preferably slightlygreater width than the diameter thereof so asto permit the trunnions tohave more or less of a rolling action rather than a sliding action whenpivoting of the clamp occurs. The openings 2| must be at least slightlygreater size than the heads 20 so as to permitthe links to be engagedupon the trunnions. When assembly. is effected it is of course apparentthat the heads 20 will project beyond and overlie the material at thelower ends of the openings so that disconnection of the links fromtheclamp by lateral movement with respect thereto will be prevented. IWhile it is not. essential it maybe preferable to provide cotter pins 22which extend through. the heads 20 for assisting the holding action. a

The above described clamp is assembled in an obvious manner and it willbe apparent that in service the clamping members themselves may turn asa unit with the trunnions as a pivot mounting, the axis of rotationextending substantially through the center line of the conductor atright angles thereto. There is consequently no change in the position ofthe center of mass and the objectionable inertia effects in ordinarystructures are thus avoided. In other words the clamp may accommodateitself to vibrations in the conductor so as to avoid the bringing of anybending strains whatsoever breakage being eliminated.

From the foregoing description and a study of the drawing it will beapparent that I have thus provided a simply constructed and inexpensiveclamp which may be quickly and easily assembled ordisassembled and whichwill in .utility and increase the adaptability of the device providedsuch changes constitute no depar- 'ture from the spirit of the inventionor the scope or" the claims hereunto appended.

Having thus described the invention, I claim: 1. In a clamping deviceofthe character described, apair of clamping'members disposable against"opposite sides of a conductor, means for maintaining the clampingmembers in clamping relation upon the conductor; trunnions projectinglaterally from one clamping member, and suspension links pivotallyreceiving said trunm'ons, the trunnions having elongated heads thereon,and the links having correspondingly elongated openings for the passageof the heads, whereby after assembly the heads'will overlap the openingsfor preventing withdrawal.

' 2. In a clamping device of the character described, a pair of clampingmembers disposable against opposite sides of a conductor, means formaintaining the clamping'members in clamping relation upon theconductor; trunnions projecting laterallyfrom one clamping member, andsuspension links pivotally' receiving said trunnions, the trunnionshaving elongated heads thereon, and the links having correspondinglyelongated openings for the passage of theheads, the openings being ofslightly greater width than the diameter of the trunnionsto permit arolling movement. a a v KENT A. HAWLEY.

